IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/corsem/v26y2019i5p1012-1025.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Understanding sustainable innovation: A systematic literature review

Author

Listed:
  • Valentina Cillo
  • Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli
  • Lorenzo Ardito
  • Manlio Del Giudice

Abstract

In order to adhere to the concept of sustainable development, firms are increasingly expected to develop innovations that reconcile economic, environmental, and social goals (i.e., sustainable innovations). However, achieving this goal is not straightforward, and although several studies have attempted to improve our understanding of sustainable innovation, a systematization of extant findings is lacking. Therefore, this paper conducts a literature review with the objective of organizing previous research regarding sustainable innovation. A systematic approach is adopted, identifying 69 relevant articles. These articles are organized according to three key perspectives: internal managerial, external relational, and performance evaluation. The results demonstrate that the first perspective, incorporating diverse managerial aspects, is the most considered, whereas the second and third perspectives remain underdeveloped. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research.

Suggested Citation

  • Valentina Cillo & Antonio Messeni Petruzzelli & Lorenzo Ardito & Manlio Del Giudice, 2019. "Understanding sustainable innovation: A systematic literature review," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(5), pages 1012-1025, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:26:y:2019:i:5:p:1012-1025
    DOI: 10.1002/csr.1783
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1783
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/csr.1783?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Boyd Cohen & Brock Smith & Ron Mitchell, 2008. "Toward a sustainable conceptualization of dependent variables in entrepreneurship research," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 17(2), pages 107-119, February.
    2. Giada Di Stefano & Margaret Peteraf & Gianmario Verona, 2010. "Dynamic capabilities deconstructed -super-‡ : a bibliographic investigation into the origins, development, and future directions of the research domain," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 19(4), pages 1187-1204, August.
    3. Michelle Greenwood, 2007. "Stakeholder Engagement: Beyond the Myth of Corporate Responsibility," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 74(4), pages 315-327, September.
    4. Manuel Branco & Lúcia Rodrigues, 2006. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Resource-Based Perspectives," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 69(2), pages 111-132, December.
    5. Wagner, Marcus, 2010. "The role of corporate sustainability performance for economic performance: A firm-level analysis of moderation effects," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(7), pages 1553-1560, May.
    6. Ayuso, Silvia & Rodriguez, Miguel A. & Ricart, Joan E., 2006. "Using stakeholder dialogue as a source for new ideas. A dynamic capability underlying sustainable innovation," IESE Research Papers D/633, IESE Business School.
    7. Annachiara Longoni & Raffaella Cagliano, 2018. "Sustainable Innovativeness and the Triple Bottom Line: The Role of Organizational Time Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 151(4), pages 1097-1120, September.
    8. DiVito, Lori & Bohnsack, René, 2017. "Entrepreneurial orientation and its effect on sustainability decision tradeoffs: The case of sustainable fashion firms," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 569-587.
    9. van Geenhuizen, Marina & Ye, Qing, 2014. "Responsible innovators: open networks on the way to sustainability transitions," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 28-40.
    10. Christian Voegtlin & Andreas Georg Scherer, 2017. "Responsible Innovation and the Innovation of Responsibility: Governing Sustainable Development in a Globalized World," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 143(2), pages 227-243, June.
    11. Steve Evans & Doroteya Vladimirova & Maria Holgado & Kirsten Van Fossen & Miying Yang & Elisabete A. Silva & Claire Y. Barlow, 2017. "Business Model Innovation for Sustainability: Towards a Unified Perspective for Creation of Sustainable Business Models," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(5), pages 597-608, July.
    12. Teoh, Siew Hong & Welch, Ivo & Wazzan, C Paul, 1999. "The Effect of Socially Activist Investment Policies on the Financial Markets: Evidence from the South African Boycott," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 72(1), pages 35-89, January.
    13. Farla, Jacco & Markard, Jochen & Raven, Rob & Coenen, Lars, 2012. "Sustainability transitions in the making: A closer look at actors, strategies and resources," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 79(6), pages 991-998.
    14. Guo‐Ciang Wu, 2017. "Effects of Socially Responsible Supplier Development and Sustainability‐Oriented Innovation on Sustainable Development: Empirical Evidence from SMEs," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 24(6), pages 661-675, November.
    15. Sanjay Sharma & Irene Henriques, 2005. "Stakeholder influences on sustainability practices in the Canadian forest products industry," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 159-180, February.
    16. Kuckertz, Andreas & Wagner, Marcus, 2010. "The influence of sustainability orientation on entrepreneurial intentions -- Investigating the role of business experience," Journal of Business Venturing, Elsevier, vol. 25(5), pages 524-539, September.
    17. Alkemade, Floortje & Suurs, Roald A.A., 2012. "Patterns of expectations for emerging sustainable technologies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 79(3), pages 448-456.
    18. Francesco Cappa & Fausto Del Sette & Darren Hayes & Federica Rosso, 2016. "How to Deliver Open Sustainable Innovation: An Integrated Approach for a Sustainable Marketable Product," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(12), pages 1-14, December.
    19. Paul Shrivastava & Stuart Hart, 1995. "Creating sustainable corporations," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 4(3), pages 154-165, July.
    20. Clay Dibrell & Justin Craig & Jaemin Kim & Aaron Johnson, 2015. "Establishing How Natural Environmental Competency, Organizational Social Consciousness, and Innovativeness Relate," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 127(3), pages 591-605, March.
    21. Constantine Andriopoulos & Marianne W. Lewis, 2009. "Exploitation-Exploration Tensions and Organizational Ambidexterity: Managing Paradoxes of Innovation," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 20(4), pages 696-717, August.
    22. Tan, Kim Hua & Zhan, YuanZhu & Ji, Guojun & Ye, Fei & Chang, Chingter, 2015. "Harvesting big data to enhance supply chain innovation capabilities: An analytic infrastructure based on deduction graph," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 223-233.
    23. Edurne A. Inigo & Laura Albareda & Paavo Ritala, 2017. "Business model innovation for sustainability: exploring evolutionary and radical approaches through dynamic capabilities," Industry and Innovation, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(5), pages 515-542, July.
    24. David J. Teece & Gary Pisano & Amy Shuen, 1997. "Dynamic capabilities and strategic management," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 18(7), pages 509-533, August.
    25. Royston Greenwood & Amalia Magán Díaz & Stan Xiao Li & José Céspedes Lorente, 2010. "The Multiplicity of Institutional Logics and the Heterogeneity of Organizational Responses," Organization Science, INFORMS, vol. 21(2), pages 521-539, April.
    26. Karl Widerquist, 2018. "The Bottom Line," Exploring the Basic Income Guarantee, in: A Critical Analysis of Basic Income Experiments for Researchers, Policymakers, and Citizens, chapter 0, pages 93-98, Palgrave Macmillan.
    27. Stilgoe, Jack & Owen, Richard & Macnaghten, Phil, 2013. "Developing a framework for responsible innovation," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(9), pages 1568-1580.
    28. Frank Vanclay, 2004. "The Triple Bottom Line And Impact Assessment: How Do Tbl, Eia, Sia, Sea And Ems Relate To Each Other?," Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management (JEAPM), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 6(03), pages 265-288.
    29. Smith, Adrian & Kern, Florian & Raven, Rob & Verhees, Bram, 2014. "Spaces for sustainable innovation: Solar photovoltaic electricity in the UK," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 115-130.
    30. Giada Di Stefano & Margaret Peteraf & Gianmario Verona, 2010. "Dynamic Capabilities Deconstructed. A bibliographic investigation into the origins, development, and future directions of the research domain," Post-Print hal-00668737, HAL.
    31. Delin Zeng & Jingbo Hu & Taohua Ouyang, 2017. "Managing Innovation Paradox in the Sustainable Innovation Ecosystem: A Case Study of Ambidextrous Capability in a Focal Firm," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-15, November.
    32. Nill, Jan & Kemp, Ren, 2009. "Evolutionary approaches for sustainable innovation policies: From niche to paradigm?," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(4), pages 668-680, May.
    33. Stefan Schaltegger & Marcus Wagner, 2011. "Sustainable entrepreneurship and sustainability innovation: categories and interactions," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 20(4), pages 222-237, May.
    34. Kivimaa, Paula & Kern, Florian, 2016. "Creative destruction or mere niche support? Innovation policy mixes for sustainability transitions," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 205-217.
    35. Birger Wernerfelt, 1995. "The resource‐based view of the firm: Ten years after," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(3), pages 171-174.
    36. Anne Marie Knott, 2003. "Persistent heterogeneity and sustainable innovation," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(8), pages 687-705, August.
    37. Maurice J. Lyver & Ta-Jung Lu, 2018. "Sustaining Innovation Performance in SMEs: Exploring the Roles of Strategic Entrepreneurship and IT Capabilities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-27, February.
    38. Sarkar, Soumodip & Pansera, Mario, 2017. "Sustainability-driven innovation at the bottom: Insights from grassroots ecopreneurs," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 327-338.
    39. Yu-Shan Chen & Ching-Hsun Chang & Yu-Hsien Lin, 2014. "The Determinants of Green Radical and Incremental Innovation Performance: Green Shared Vision, Green Absorptive Capacity, and Green Organizational Ambidexterity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 6(11), pages 1-20, November.
    40. Bolton, Ronan & Hannon, Matthew, 2016. "Governing sustainability transitions through business model innovation: Towards a systems understanding," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(9), pages 1731-1742.
    41. Christian Voegtlin & Scherer Andreas Georg, 2017. "Responsible Innovation and the Innovation of Responsibility: Governing Sustainable Development in a Globalized World," Post-Print hal-01540972, HAL.
    42. Jordi Surroca & Josep A. Tribó & Sandra Waddock, 2010. "Corporate responsibility and financial performance: the role of intangible resources," Strategic Management Journal, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 463-490, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wei Jiang & Aric Xu Wang & Kevin Zheng Zhou & Chuang Zhang, 2020. "Stakeholder Relationship Capability and Firm Innovation: A Contingent Analysis," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 167(1), pages 111-125, November.
    2. Chiara Pellegrini & Eleonora Annunziata & Francesco Rizzi & Marco Frey, 2019. "The role of networks and sustainable intrapreneurship as interactive drivers catalyzing the adoption of sustainable innovation," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(5), pages 1026-1048, September.
    3. Maria Rosa De Giacomo & Raimund Bleischwitz, 2020. "Business models for environmental sustainability: Contemporary shortcomings and some perspectives," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(8), pages 3352-3369, December.
    4. Denise Fischer & Malte Brettel & René Mauer, 2020. "The Three Dimensions of Sustainability: A Delicate Balancing Act for Entrepreneurs Made More Complex by Stakeholder Expectations," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 163(1), pages 87-106, April.
    5. Ben Zhang & Lei Ma & Zheng Liu, 2020. "Literature Trend Identification of Sustainable Technology Innovation: A Bibliometric Study Based on Co-Citation and Main Path Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-20, October.
    6. Edilson Bacinello & Gérson Tontini & Anete Alberton, 2021. "Influence of corporate social responsibility on sustainable practices of small and medium‐sized enterprises: Implications on business performance," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(2), pages 776-785, March.
    7. Lorenzo Ardito & Javier Carrillo‐Hermosilla & Pablo del Río & Pierpaolo Pontrandolfo, 2019. "Sustainable innovation: Processes, strategies, and outcomes," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(5), pages 1009-1011, September.
    8. Zeeshan Ullah, 2021. "Sustainable product attributes and firm performance: The moderating role of marketing resource intensity," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(8), pages 4107-4120, December.
    9. Veronica, Scuotto & Alexeis, Garcia-Perez & Valentina, Cillo & Elisa, Giacosa, 2020. "Do stakeholder capabilities promote sustainable business innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises? Evidence from Italy," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 131-141.
    10. Matthias Filser & Sascha Kraus & Norat Roig-Tierno & Norbert Kailer & Ulrike Fischer, 2019. "Entrepreneurship as Catalyst for Sustainable Development: Opening the Black Box," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(16), pages 1-18, August.
    11. Annesi, Nora & Battaglia, Massimo & Sganzetta, Lorenza, 2023. "Mutual benefits of sustainability integration in the value chain: Responsible innovation by public utilities," Utilities Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    12. Eriksson, Taina, 2014. "Processes, antecedents and outcomes of dynamic capabilities," Scandinavian Journal of Management, Elsevier, vol. 30(1), pages 65-82.
    13. Ignė Stalmokaitė & Tommy Larsson Segerlind & Johanna Yliskylä‐Peuralahti, 2023. "Revival of wind‐powered shipping: Comparing the early‐stage innovation process of an incumbent and a newcomer firm," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(2), pages 958-975, February.
    14. Lucía Muñoz-Pascual & Carla Curado & Jesús Galende, 2019. "The Triple Bottom Line on Sustainable Product Innovation Performance in SMEs: A Mixed Methods Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-22, March.
    15. Piotr Ratajczak, 2021. "The mediating role of natural and social resources in the corporate social responsibility—corporate financial performance relationship," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 42(1), pages 100-119, January.
    16. Leopoldo Gutierrez & Ivan Montiel & Jordi A. Surroca & Josep A. Tribo, 2022. "Rainbow Wash or Rainbow Revolution? Dynamic Stakeholder Engagement for SDG-Driven Responsible Innovation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 180(4), pages 1113-1136, November.
    17. Steen, Markus & Weaver, Tyson, 2017. "Incumbents’ diversification and cross-sectorial energy industry dynamics," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(6), pages 1071-1086.
    18. Jean-Marie Courrent & Sonia Chassé & Waleed Omri, 2018. "Do Entrepreneurial SMEs Perform Better Because They are More Responsible?," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 153(2), pages 317-336, December.
    19. Steffen Maas & Tassilo Schuster & Evi Hartmann, 2018. "Stakeholder Pressures, Environmental Practice Adoption and Economic Performance in the German Third-party Logistics Industry—A Contingency Perspective," Journal of Business Economics, Springer, vol. 88(2), pages 167-201, February.
    20. Afris Widya-Hasuti & Abbas Mardani & Dalia Streimikiene & Ali Sharifara & Fausto Cavallaro, 2018. "The Role of Process Innovation between Firm-Specific Capabilities and Sustainable Innovation in SMEs: Empirical Evidence from Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-26, June.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:corsem:v:26:y:2019:i:5:p:1012-1025. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://doi.org/10.1002/(ISSN)1535-3966 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.